Gus
by HorseshoesAreFun
Summary: "Castle, why do you have a puppy?" She reached out to rub two of her fingers along the dog's small head, then looked up at Castle. "He's adorable!" "Isn't he?" Castle agreed, beaming. "I got him for you! Well, for us. But I'll be gone for a few weeks so he can snuggle with you at night."
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: So, my mom said she got me a dog for when come home. I think she's just finding ways to lure us back because she doesn't like being an empty nester. (Also, she needs someone to pass the responsibilities off on, when she stops liking the dog. Go figure.) Anyway, that's why this._

It wasn't so much her words that told him how much she would miss him, as the little things she'd started doing, in the couple of weeks before he had to leave on his book tour.

For example, she would drag a blanket from the bed and curl up to read her book on the couch in his office, while he wrote in the evenings, where, normally, she would just stay in the other room. Or the things she'd leave him that let him know she was thinking about him. Like the pack of his favorite gum that he found on the kitchen counter one morning, with a note that said, _Thought you might need it for all the plane riding you'll be doing. Xoxo –K_. And, she'd never been much for holding hands in the car, but recently, she'd even gone so far as sliding the fingers of her free hand into his fist when they were driving to a crime scene.

And tonight, instead of her usual peck on the lips, before rolling over onto her stomach and _maybe _pushing one hand under his back for contact, she'd curled into his chest and buried her nose in his neck.

"So tell me, Kate," he said, grinning as he raked his fingers down through her silky hair. "However will you survive the next three weeks without me?"

She made an incredulous noise against his shoulder and replied, "The same way I always did before: Enjoy some quite time for once, and actually get some sleep without a big, clumsy, sweaty body rolling all over me in the night.

"Ahaha, very funny," he said, with a sarcastic laugh.

He felt her lips curl into a smile against his neck, before he heard a muffled, "The real question is, how are _you_ going to survive, without _me_?"

"That is a good question. And, I'm not really sure," he said, sounding suddenly, very sincere.

Of course, he'd had book tours before. But this was the first one since they'd started seeing each other in a less-than-professional capacity. Not to mention, they'd spent a pretty fair amount of time together in the last four years, and even before he'd been sleeping with her, he'd missed her like hell whenever he'd had to go away. And he was willing to venture a guess that she had too.

Since then though, he'd gotten used to her leg being thrown over his, and her occasional soft snoring, and her hair tickling his face while he was sleeping. He'd gotten used to kissing her in the morning and massaging her neck in the evening, and the way she trailed her index finger up his forearm, when no one else was in the bull pen. He had gotten used to her bodyweight leaning against his in the elevator, and her hands in his back pockets while he unlocked the front door, and hearing her whisper, "Goodnight, Castle" after they made love.

But now, for the next almost-month, all he had to look forward to was a cold, hotel bed, Paula yammering in his ear, and on-the-go pastries with non-Walter's-Coffee-Hole coffee.

He sighed and Kate pulled her head back to look at him. "There's always FaceTime, Castle," she said with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah." He looked down at her and smoothed his thumb along her bare shoulder where her nightshirt had fallen down. "But it's not the same as holding you."

"It's just three weeks though," she said, dislodging a hand from between them and gliding it down the side of his face.

"A lot can happen in three weeks."

A smirk formed on her lips. "Or _not_ happen," she whispered huskily, shifting their lower halves, closer together.

He grunted. "That too."

They were silent before she finally said, "I will miss you though," rubbing her foot up and down the back of his calf.

"I know."

He did know. But _she_ knew that he needed to hear it. Because he caught on to her little, unspoken hints, but he also needed words from her. And she tried to give them to him, when she knew what they were.

"I'll miss you just as much," he said.

She just smiled, closing her eyes as his mouth came in contact with hers.

* * *

Castle walked through the corridor, chain-link fence on either side of him. The smell of disinfectant mingled with the slightly fouler odor. It was echo-y in here, all kinds of dog sounds bouncing around the walls of the animal shelter. He had considered finding a breeder and throwing down $600-$800 on the perfect puppy, but he was pretty sure Kate would prefer a rescue. She had a tender heart that way, and after all, why would he want to break the bank, when there were plenty of perfectly good dogs that just needed a home? Though, that hadn't stopped him from searching high and low, through more than a few SPCAs trying to find _just_ the right one.

They hadn't talked about it. Not directly anyway. But he knew Kate liked dogs and had casually thought about getting one in the past. Royal was a perfect example of that. And he had always loved the idea of having a dog. He'd only talked about it with Alexis about a million times before she went off to college; they'd just never made it happen. And since she'd moved into the dorm, he'd been distracted enough with his new relationship, that loneliness hadn't driven him to it yet. But now, he was going to be gone for three weeks and he figured it was the perfect opportunity to give Beckett a little company, in his absence.

This was the fifth place he'd been to, and as he meandered through the kennels, stopping and attempting to pet the dogs, through the gates, and talking to them, he came to one kennel and knew he was done looking. The paper that was inserted in the plastic sleeve on the door said his name was "Scoot".

"Well, we'll just have to remedy that unfortunate mishap. Won't we, boy?" Castle said, turning to the dog and sticking his fingers through the chain-link.

He was just a puppy, but you could tell that he would wind up being about forty or fifty pounds. Not too big, not too small. His face sheet said that he was estimated to be about ten weeks old, and was an unknown mix. Castle figured he must have had some curly-haired relatives though, because he was soft and fluffy, and had curly fur sticking out everywhere, above his eyes, like bushy eyebrows. He was grey and chocolatey brown, with a brown nose, and he looked super cuddly.

As soon as Castle crouched down, Scoot started wagging his tail and licking Rick's hand furiously.

"How could she not love that face?" Castle asked no one.

* * *

The water was running, and Castle was kneeling in front of the bathtub giving the dog a sudsy mohawk, when his phone started ringing. Wiping his hands clumsily on the nearest towel, he reached in his pocket. "Hey, you," he said, sticking his Iphone between his ear and shoulder and going back to shaping the dog's fur into a pointy, shampoo-y mess.

"I thought you were coming back after lunch," came Beckett's voice on the other end. "It's like 4:30."

"Oh." Castle looked at his watch. "Sorry. Something came up and I got a little carried away."

"Figures." She rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see her and said, "Well, I'm trying to get out of here by 6:00. Are you coming back or should I just meet you at home?"

"Whose home?" Castle asked.

She started to answer, hers, but then cut herself off instead with, "Do I hear water running?"

"Uh, yeah I'm just…" He made a be-quiet signal to the dog, then said, "Don't worry about it. I'll swing by and pick you up at the precinct when you're done."

"Kay."

"See you soon."

"Bye."

He tried to carefully drop his phone onto the closed toilet lid beside him, and let the call disconnect on its own.

"That was a close one, huh buddy?" he said, swirling the dog's soapy fur around his fingers.

Scoot wasn't protesting to the bath, but he was shivering a little, despite the water being warm.

"Are you scared of the water, little guy?" Castle asked in full baby talk. "Ok. We're done. Let's go find the blow dryer and then meet your new mommy."

* * *

Castle was hugging the dog to his chest, with one side of his coat wrapped around him, shielding him from the fall wind. He'd texted Beckett that he'd meet her outside, and when she came striding out of the glass doors, her face twisted into a puzzled smile.

"Castle, why do you have a puppy?" She reached out to rub two of her fingers along the dog's small head, then looked up at Castle. "He's adorable!"

"Isn't he?" Castle agreed, beaming. "I got him for you! Well, for us. But I'll be gone for a few weeks so he can snuggle with you at night."

Her forehead crinkled into a frown but her hand didn't leave the dog's head when she said, "You got us a dog without telling me? Castle, you…"

Before she could go on, he held the puppy up, right in front of her face and said, "But Kate, look how cute he is! He loves you."

Scoot's tongue flicked out, and if he'd been a little closer it would have swiped her nose. The frown melted off her face and she reached out, taking him.

"He _is_ super cute," she acknowledged, grinning while he licked her cheek. Then her head swiveled back to glare at Castle and she said, "But you I'm still mad at you for not telling me."

He looked sheepish for a second then wrapped his arm around her and started them walking, saying, "But I just wanted to surprise you. And I thought you wanted a dog. You're not really mad, are you?"

She made a futile attempt for about two seconds, but then gave up. "No. How could I be mad at that face?"

"Whose? His or mine?"

She shrugged, burying her face in the dog's fur.

"Mine," he decided, reaching up to pet the dog as well.

"He smells like cherries," Kate observed, scratching behind his ear.

Castle smirked at her. "He likes your shampoo."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Knowing you, you probably used the whole thing too. That stuff's expensive, Castle, you can't just buy it at Wal-Mart."

"I'll buy you some more."

They hailed a cab, and when they were nestled in, headed back to her apartment, she turned to look up and him and said, "He's perfect. What's his name?"

Leaning down to give her a quick kiss he said, "I was thinking… Sandor Clegane."

She snorted. "We're not naming him Sandor Clegane."

"Why? He's a hound, isn't he?"

Ignoring him, she stroked the dog's head and ears, saying, "I'm naming him Gus."

Castle smiled, liking the fact that she was taking control of the situation. He was pretty sure it meant that she was really on board with having a puppy.

"That was my second choice," he said, squeezing her shoulders.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Find the Happy Endings quote! Yay!_

Kate and Gus drove Castle to the airport two days later. And when they dropped him on the curb of the JetBlue terminal at JFK and Beckett got out to see him off, Gus tried in vain to look out the window from the front seat, but he was still a little too short. They heard his muffled, high pitched barking from inside the car, and when they turned to look, all they could see was his little wet nose, smearing along the bottom of the window.

"He's missing out on all the action," Castle said, chuckling as the nose disappeared, then reappeared a few seconds later in the back window.

Kate smiled, watching his nose bob along the bottom of the window, and said, "He probably misses you already."

"Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Castle smirked at her and she raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying? That _I_ miss you already?"

"I don't know," he answered, wrapping and arm around her waist and pulling her closer. "Do you?"

Her eyes trailed down to his lips and she said, distractedly, "You're gonna miss your flight."

"Yeah, I should go," he agreed, sounding equally distracted.

But invisible magnets were drawing their faces together, despite what their words were saying. They kissed, but eventually he really did have to go, so they said their goodbyes and he picked up his suitcase and took a step closer to the car, tapping lightly on the window and looking down at Gus.

"You take care of her, Gus. You're the man of the house while I'm away. ya hear?"

For some reason, he had an old west accent when he said it and it made her roll her eyes and laugh.

Castle turned to her with a grin and said, "I showed him how to use the coffee maker, but he strikes me as a little on the irresponsible side, so don't be too disappointed if you don't have a hot cup of joe waiting for you when you wake up."

"I think I'll be fine, Castle."

"Well then, I will see you in three weeks, fair lady."

He kissed her one more time before disappearing inside, and she and Gus cleared out for the rest of the cars that were honking at them to get moving.

"It's just you and me now, kiddo," she said, turning to glance at the little dog who was sitting in Castle's usual seat. His ribs were quivering, and his nose twitching as he held it up to sniff the air. He let out one last huff of breath and turned to look at her. She thought he looked pensive; maybe even a little sad.

"It's ok, Gus," she said, reaching over to smooth one finger under his small chin. "He's coming back. It's just three short weeks. Don't be sad."

Gus blinked at her, then yawned and lay down on the seat, and she sighed, knowing that she was really telling that to herself.

* * *

He called her every night, as long as the time difference didn't make it too late. But when he was on the west coast and didn't get back to his hotel until eleven, he would just text her an_ Until 12 days from now, Detective _or a short _Miss you. Night. _She almost always texted back, too. Which nearly made him stop, to keep from waking her up, but she'd sent him a frowny face the next morning, when he hadn't.

He liked to keep her apprised of his time away from her, by intermittently texting her pictures of mundane trivialities, like his breakfast, or the line at a book signing, or the top of his foot, where he'd tripped and scratched in on the corner of the bedframe. But she enjoyed it. They were ridiculous and made her roll her eyes more often than not, but it let her know that he was thinking of her. And it's not like it was anything new, because he did that even when they were together. Like when he sent her pictures of the view out the window, from his side of her cruiser. Or a picture of the dinner he'd just made, letting her know it was ready. Or the couple of times when he lagged behind her as she brought him up to speed on a case and when she said, "Castle, pay attention. What are you doing back there?" he'd sent her a picture of her own ass.

It was just _him_. And in return, she would send him a picture of her hand, playing tug-of-war with a piece of rope and Gus's mouth. Or her lone cup of coffee, sitting beside the keyboard on her desk. Or herself, cuddled up with Gus cradled in her arm like a baby, and Frozen Heat open in her lap.

She discovered that Gus liked sleeping on his back, in her arms, one of his paws sticking up in the air, and it made her laughed every time he dropped his head limply over her arm and licked at the air, one of his back legs twitching involuntarily.

"He's _so_ funny, Castle," she said, one night while they were talking on the phone. "When I get home from work, he wags his tail so hard that he can't even walk straight."

Castle didn't really have anything to say. He just sat grinning into his phone and poking the stiff, hotel pillow beside him. He missed them. Granted, he'd only known Gus for two days, but dogs were easy to fall in love with.

"Castle?" she asked, sounding worried. "You ok? You're quite tonight."

"Sorry, I was just picturing you naked."

Kate laughed. "Well as soon as you get home, we'll have a nice roll in the hay and then maybe you'll be able to focus on any of the things I have to say that aren't sex-related."

"No, I'm totally paying attention. You said something about Gus not walking straight. Does he have misshapen hind legs or something? Do we need to get him checked out?"

She laughed again. "Funny man." Then after a beat, she said, "How was your day?"

"Oh you know, same old, same old. 'Castle, sign my boob.' 'Hug my adorable kid.' 'Here, have this free present.' Drudgery, really."

"Hard knock life, huh?" she asked, chuckling and shaking her head.

"I do it for the children."

She rolled her eyes and groaned, "Oh, jeez."

This time _he_ laughed. "So… how are _you_ doing?"

"I'm in the throes of depression without you. Barely scraping by," she said, over-dramatically.

"I knew it!"

"No. Actually, the guys have been almost uncomfortably caring about this whole thing, like we broke up or something. They make sure to invite me out with them almost every night, which I guess is sweet, in an awkward sort of way."

"Do you go?"

"Lanie and I hit the Old Haunt with them last week, but mostly I just come home and play with Gus."

"Lucky bastard."

"Only five more days, Castle."

"You mean five millennia?"

When she didn't say anything in reply, he was about to keep whining, but then she started talking.

"Gus. Leave that alone. No, no." There was a pause and then, "Good boy! Come here, babe."

"Hey!" Castle protested. "All you ever call me is Castle. How come he gets all the pet names?"

A laugh reverberated through the phone and she said, "Um, maybe because he _is_ a pet?"

"You make a flimsy case, Kate."

"What are you even talking about?"

"You just said, 'come here, babe' to the _dog_. Never once, have you said that to me."

"So, you want me to treat you like a dog?"

"You know what I mean."

She was still laughing at him when she said, "I have _too_, Castle."

"I don't recall the words ever passing your lips."

"Why is this such a big deal to you?"

He huffed dramatically and said, "I don't know. Maybe because my girlfriend only ever calls me by my last name unless she's mocking me. Have you never heard of a term of endearment?"

"Castle _is_ my pet name for you," said retorted.

"Yeah, except for the four years where you used it interchangeably with curse words."

She had to laugh again. "Well, I'm sorry, _Babe_. I didn't realize you wanted to be called a pig's name."

"It's not about _that _specifically. It's… You know what? Never mind. Just forget it. You hate me."

"Would you _relax_?" she said. "You're being ridiculous."

Apparently now he was sulking because he didn't say anything.

She felt a little bad, thinking maybe she'd made fun of him just a little too fervently. She honestly hadn't realized that it bothered him when she only called him Castle. But now that he'd brought it up, she could understand where he was coming from. After all, she did like it when he whispered, "Hey, Sexy," in her ear, or grabbed her hand with a, "Let's ditch this joint, Doll Face." Hell, she'd even secretly liked it the one time he'd had the audacity to call her "Boo". But, of course she had leveled him with a glare and threatened his essential bits, because it had been at work.

Now she felt like she needed to remedy the situation.

"Sorry, Sweetie," she tried. "I didn't know it meant that much to you."

"Well," he said, like an 8-year-old who felt grudging with his forgiveness. "I might have blown it a little out of proportion."

She chuckled. "Who, you? Inconceivable!"

He grunted indignantly, then fell silent before he said, "Now, don't think you have to get too crazy with it. An occasional straying from the tried and true 'Castle' is all it'll take to make me happy."

Smiling to herself because he was ready to play again, she said, "Oh no no no, Honey Pie. You walked right into this. Now you have to deal with the consequences, my little Lily Petal."

"You know, now that I think about it… Castle's good. Great, actually. You can just stick with Castle. All the time."

She was laughing again and he'd forgotten that he was ever upset. That was his bread and butter, drawing a smile from her lips, or a laugh from her throat. She was right, he was being ridiculous about it.

When her laughter died down, he let out a contented sigh and said, "It's probably getting kind of late there, huh?"

"Umm…" She was reluctant to hang up but, it was. "Yeah, I should probably get some sleep."

"You should. And in the meantime, I'll just be here. Thinkin' about you, thinkin' about me, thinkin' about you… naked," he chanted.

"Mmmhmm." Her eye roll was almost audible. "Night, Castle."

"Goodnight, Kate."

He was about to hang up when she said, "Oh, and Castle?"

"Yeah?"

"Right now, I'm wearing nothing but your Captain America t-shirt. Sweet dreams."

Then his phone beeped as it disconnected.

* * *

The last bit of his trip passed rather uneventfully, except for the fact that his flight home, got delayed twice, and by the time he was re-scheduled to get in, at 2 am, he hated for her to have to pick him up. So he insisted that he'd take a cab and that she not worry about him.

And even though she'd said she probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, when he crept into her bedroom in the wee hours of the morning, she was sound asleep, her arms and legs curled around Gus's small body.

He set his bag down inside the door and made his way softly over to her, trying not to make too much noise. But he didn't get very far before Gus's head popped up and his tail started wagging and he was scrambling out of her embrace.

"Shhh," Castle tried, fruitlessly, when Gus started making little whining noises and scampering to the edge of the bed.

He reached out to pet the dog, who evaded and started licking his palm instead, all the while high-stepping all over Beckett's hair.

"Gus," Castle whispered. "Sit."

Nothing.

Castle was just reaching out to pick up the little dog, when she stirred. A moan escaped her and her body uncurled, eyes opening slowly.

"Sorry," he whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Castle?" she said, drifing back to full consciousness.

"Hi."

He smiled at her as she swept her mess of bed-head out of her face.

"Hey. When do you get here?"

"Right now," he said, trying to keep Gus from wiggling out of his grasp.

He put one hand beside her head and leaned down to kiss her, while his other arm had Gus tucked between them, unintentionally close enough for the little dog to join in, lapping happily, at as much of both their faces as he could reach. Not wanting to be interrupted, Castle's arm automatically stretched out and placed the dog as far away as he could reach, without breaking their kiss. It didn't help though, because as soon as he let go, Gus came darting up between them, barking and licking and barking some more.

Finally, chagrinned, Castle let her go and sat back up.

"Stop cockblocking me, man," Castle said, rubbing his fingers into Gus's fluffy coat. "Not cool."

Kate laughed and scratched the little dog's chest. "He just wants to make sure I'm alright."

"Looks to me more like he's trying to snake my girl," Castle retorted. "I come in here and you two are all spooned up together and I can't even get a kiss in edgewise."

Now Gus was on Castle's lap, paws on his chest, trying to hop high enough to lick his face.

"No, he's just an innocent little puppy," Kate said, smiling at them.

"Innocent my ass," Castle said, picking the dog up and looking him in the face. "I see what you're trying to do, Gus. And it's not gonna work."

"Don't worry, Gus," Kate said, taking him from Castle. "He's just jealous."

"I _am_ jealous," Castle agreed. "How am I supposed to get any welcome-home sex if this guy's trying to get all up in the middle of it?"

Kate laughed and leaned forward to peck him on the lips. "Don't worry, Castle. He has a doggy bed in the laundry room."

_Edit: Upon further speculation, I realized that probably Kate's apartment doesn't have a laundry room. That's ok. Suspend your disbelief, folks. Cause I think if poor little Gus is gonna get kicked out, he at least deserves a good laundry room. amiright?_


	3. Chapter 3

"Good morning, Cutie," she said, rubbing her fingers into the hair at the back of his neck. His body stiffened as he stretched on the bed and she said, "How did you sleep?"

He opened his eyes, but just yawned and she chuckled saying, "It's ok. Daylight Savings ended last night, you can go back to sleep if you want."

When he started kissing her forearm, his warm tongue rubbing the inside of her wrist she said, "We can't play. I have to go to work. But I brought you your breakfast."

She set the bowl on the floor by his bed and as soon as he heard it, he was jumping up and trotting over to his dog food.

Her hand scratched down his head and back and she said, "At least you'll have some company today, Gus. Daddy will play with you when he wakes up. He's tired though, so let him sleep some more. Ok?"

She left him to eat, cracking the laundry room door just a little so he could get out. Then she got ready for work, gathering up her stuff and pouring herself a cup of coffee. She was making one last sweep of her room, trying to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything when her eyes came to rest on Castle's sleeping form. He'd taken over her pillow by now and was sprawled across the whole bed. She smiled to herself and crept over to the nightstand where she was pretty sure there was a pad of paper.

When she was done jotting down her note, she gently attached the sticky part to the back of his hand which was sticking out from under her pillow, right beside his face. She ran her fingers lightly over his hair.

"I love you," she whispered in his ear, before she kissed his temple and was gone.

* * *

It was almost eleven thirty by the time Castle woke up, all his muscles stiffening and flexing as he stretched. He swept his hand across the bed beside him, looking for her out of habit, but the bright sun shining through the window told him that she was long gone by now. He swung his feet over the side of the bed, hearing a squeak as his foot came in contact with something soft.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Gus!" he said, reaching down to the little dog who had apparently curled up on the floor beside the bed because he was too small to jump up onto it. Evidently, he wasn't hurt as much as startled, because his tail wasn't tucked for very long before it started wagging and he came running back to Castle's hand that was now on his level.

That's when Castle noticed the sticky note on his hand and plucked it off. It said:

_You looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you. Fresh coffee in the pot, donuts on the counter. Gus already ate but he likes to walk in Central Park, if you have time. See you two tonight, have a good day!_

Followed by a little heart and a K.

Castle smiled and picked up the dog with his free hand, bringing him to rest against his chest.

"She's so thoughtful, huh buddy?" he said, showing Gus the note. He scratched behind Gus's ear as the little guy's tail whacked against his ribcage. "What do you say I take a shower and then we bring her some lunch?" He set him down on the twisted up blankets and said, "You make the bed and I'll order Chinese."

After he'd taken a shower, he rifled around until he found Gus's leash and they set out, picking up their order at Hung's and heading for the precinct.

* * *

The elevator dinged and Castle and Gus came striding into the bull pen.

"Hey, Castle!" Ryan said across the room.

"Hello, hello!" Castle said, grinning as Esposito and Ryan started towards him, and Beckett looked up from the paper she was signing.

"How was the book tour?" Esposito asked, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Weeelll, it paid the bills," Castle replied, turning to Kate who was getting up from her chair.

"Hey, boys," she said, grinning and reaching down to swoop Gus off the floor.

"So this is the famous Gus," Ryan remarked, reaching out to pet the dog in Beckett's arms.

Esposito smirked. "We were starting to wonder if he was actually real or if Beckett was cheating on you, Castle."

Kate gave him a sarcastic eye roll while Castle glared daggers at him.

"He's a cute little guy, isn't he?" Ryan cut in, before a brawl could break out.

Gus reveled in the attention as Ryan and Esposito both tried to pet him at the same time, while Castle looked on, grinning, with one hand placed in the middle of Kate's back.

"Look at you guys, the perfect little family," Esposito said. "Is he your test baby?"

Ryan laughed and chimed in. "Jenny and I got a cat as our test baby, but I don't think it worked cause she just hides under the bed all the time. This guy though… "

"He is not our tes-" she started to say.

But Esposito cut in with, "Who gets up if he cries during the night?"

She glared at them. "Would you two just mind your own business?"

Castle was grinning at them from over her shoulder and he worked his eyebrows when they looked at him, schooling his features as soon as Kate followed their gazes.

Ryan and Esposito turned back to each other with matching smirks and Ryan said with a nod, "Test baby."

Beckett jerked the end of the leash out of Castle's hand and said, "You guys get back to work."

They just shrugged as they walked back to their desks, their amusement not dampened in the least.

She elbowed Castle in the ribs. "Don't egg them on!"

He just laughed and held up his bag of take out. "Lunch?"

* * *

They commandeered one of the outdoor tables at the Starbucks near the precinct and ate their Chinese food while Gus found a good spot to lie down under Beckett's chair, his tongue hanging out.

"Thanks for lunch, Hon," she said, leaning over to give Castle a kiss.

"Of course!" He replied. "Thank _you_."

"For what?" she asked, taking the box of chow mein from him.

He shrugged. "For everything. For last night, for your note this morning, for wearing that orange, leather jacket that's my favorite, for being super hot." He quirked an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes. "Just for being you," he concluded, placing his hand on top of hers.

She smiled and turned her hand over. "I'm glad you're home."

"Me too."

He had to let go of her hand in order to eat, but he shifted his knee to press against hers under the table.

"So, I've noticed that he's got a pretty good handle on sit, come, down, and heel." He craned his neck to look under her chair at Gus. "What else have you managed to teach our test baby?"

She glared at him. "Don't start."

That made his smile widen and he said, "Oh come on, Kate. He kind of _is_ like our first kid." He looked thoughtful before he added, "Although, you can't exactly just stick a kid in the laundry room anytime you want to get some."

"Stop it."

He got a little more serious and said, "Why. You don't want kids?"

"I never said that." She plunged her fork into the rice, breaking eye contact.

"So you _do_?"

She huffed and looked back at him. "Maybe someday. But we're not talking about this right now, Castle. If it _is_ down the road for us, it's far down the road." She didn't sound angry, but maybe reluctant and a little uncomfortable.

"Ok," he relented. "Nobody said anything about tomorrow. I was mostly just teasing you." His grin reappeared and he added, "Anyway, that's what a test baby is for, right? Because the real thing is _down the road_."

She just looked at him, letting out an uneasy breath and biting the inside of her lip. He could see that this whole conversation was scaring her a little bit, even though he was less than serious about it. He'd already been married and had a kid, and even though another one would still be a huge life event, the idea didn't scare him the way it would someone who'd hadn't done any of that yet.

"Ok. I'll drop it. I'm sorry."

"Thank you," she said, almost shyly as she went back to work on her food.

He just watched her for a second, a hint of a smile still pulling at the corners of his mouth. For some reason, her reaction had made him love her even more. Maybe it was because she took the whole idea so seriously, where in his experience, he was the only one who did that. Meredith had approached parenting the same way she approached everything else: If it was convenient at the moment, great. If not, just don't worry about it. But he knew that when Kate committed to something, she really committed. So if she wasn't ready to do that yet, he was fine with it. After all, they had Gus.

"So, working on a good case?" he finally asked, steering the conversation somewhere that was easy for both of them.

She smiled. "Yeah, you've been missing out. Guy suffocated to death in the trunk of a circus, clown car, full clown regalia on and everything."

Castle shuddered. "I'm _glad_ I missed that."

Her head tilted and she smiled amusedly at him. "Are you afraid of clowns, Rick?"

"Not afraid," he amended. "Just, not a fan."

"Is that so?" Her eyebrow arched and she smirked.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not afraid of them. I've just had bad experiences with them."

She laughed. "Do tell."

"Uh," he shook his head. "Boring story."

"Come on, Castle. If you tell me, I'll tell you why I don't eat canned mushrooms."

Castle's eyes lit up and he said, "Correction: Why you have an irrational _fear_ of canned mushrooms."

"I do not!" she shot back. "I just don't like them."

"Kind of like I don't like clowns?" he asked, smirking.

"So you're admitting it?"

"I'm not admitting anything."

"I think you just did."

He fixed her with a challenging stare and she him gave one right back, one eyebrow up, prodding him.

"Fine." He set his fork down and sat back in his chair.

"This better be a true story," she cut in.

One of his hands went up between them and he nodded. "Ok, just calm down. This is completely true."

She pushed her chair back a little, picking Gus up and setting him in her lap, looking expectantly at Castle.

He cleared his throat. "So, when Alexis was about, maybe two, I took her to the circus. I thought it would be fun and colorful and she would like riding the elephant. But the first time she saw a clown, she just screamed bloody murder. It was so stressful. I couldn't get her to stop crying for like two hours. Then, to make it worse, that Halloween, one of my buddies from college dressed up as a scary clown and scared the absolute shit out of her. I ended up punching him in the face. She couldn't sleep by herself for like a month after that. And until she was six or seven, whenever she saw a clown, she'd get these weird, anxious shivers and start crying. No matter what I said or did to try to calm her down and reassure her, it didn't help. So I did whatever I could to keep her from seeing one." He stopped for a second, eyes unfocused, remembering, then looked back at her and said, "Thus, I don't like clowns."

"That's actually really sweet, Castle. I mean, not that Alexis was afraid of clowns, but that you were so protective of her," she said, giving him an affectionate smile.

"I just hated seeing her like that, so much," he replied.

Even though the idea of them having kids one day still sent her heart beating nervously, and butterflies fluttering around in her stomach, beneath it all, she could get used to the picture of him being the father of her children. There were plenty of ways that he fell short at times, but his dedication to Alexis wasn't one of them. Not only that, but Kate could just picture a little, miniature Castle, with his adorable mouth and her green eyes.

She smoothed her hand down his forearm and said, "You're such a good dad."

He just smiled and said, "Now tell me yours!" leaning forward and looking at her in anticipation.

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, she said, "Mine is more embarrassing."

His lips pursed in a pleased smile. "All the more reason to tell me!"

She fluffed the fur on top of Gus's head, chuckling before she said, "I was eleven and it was my first sleep over at my friend Sara's house. We had pizza but it was the crappy kind with canned mushrooms instead of fresh mushrooms, and barely any cheese on it." She paused, rolling her eyes. "For some reason I was the only one that got sick from it. Some kind of stomach bug. I woke up in the middle of the night and threw up all over my pillow. Sara's mom had to take me home, puking the whole way. Luckily the diarrhea didn't start until I was home. I was mortified. And Sara wouldn't talk to me at school the next day. Ever since then, I can't look at a canned mushroom without my stomach turning."

Castle bit his lip, trying not to laugh.

"Don't laugh!" she said.

"No, no. I'm not. It's not funny. It's just…"

He grinned and her eyes narrowed at him.

"That must have been awful," he offered.

"It _was_. Ok?" she said, before shoving Gus onto his lap and saying, "Now, take our test baby and go because I have to get back to work."

Castle got up too, beaming. "Our test baby?"

She ignored his question and said,"Thanks again for lunch."

They kissed briefly, before she turned to go.

"You're welcome," he said. "But that orange chicken looked a little old, do you want a bucket just in case it comes back up?"

She flipped him the bird without even looking back.

"We love you too!" he called, then looked down. "Don't we, Gus?"


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: As per fbobs' reminder. The realities of having a new puppy:_

"Rick, where's the dog?"

They were sitting on his bed. She'd brought home the case file she was working on and he was – well she wasn't really sure if he was actually working, or reading tv news.

"Ummm…" He didn't turn his head.

He'd heard her, but he didn't comprehend it until she said, "Castle!" and he finally looked at her, processing her question at last.

"The dog?" he looked around the room. "I think I saw him go in the bathroom a few minutes ago?"

"Gus," she called, in the direction of the bathroom. "Come here, Gus!"

Pretty soon, he came trotting out of the bathroom with what was as close to a smile as a dog could have, and toilet paper stuck to his beard.

"Great," she said, picking him up off the floor and plucking wet tissue from his mouth. "Gus, why?" she asked, getting up to flick the mess into a nearby trashcan. Then added, "You wanna go clean that up, Castle?" sounding a little irritated.

He was already zoned back out, looking at his laptop.

She turned, trying to get his attention with, "Rick," just as another, "Richard!" came floating through the open bedroom door.

The combination managed to break his trance and he looked up. "YES?" he called to Martha, looking at Kate with a what-is-happening face.

Her mouth flattened into a thin line that said _maybe you should pay attention_.

Martha's voice came from the kitchen. "Your furry friend left us a little present on the floor! I almost stepped in it."

Kate grimaced and Castle huffed, glaring at Gus.

"Don't glare at him," she reprimanded. "I told you to check on him, like half an hour ago."

"You did?" he asked with a frown.

"Yes!" She handed him the dog. "I said, 'make sure he goes potty' and you said, 'okay'."

"I did?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "Go clean up the bathroom." Then turned on her heel and left the room.

* * *

"Sorry, Martha," she said, coming out into the kitchen. "I'll take care of it."

"You couldn't drag Richard away from his computer?" Martha asked, sympathetically.

Kate chuckled ironically and said, "Oh, don't worry. There's more for him to clean up in the bathroom."

Martha smiled and waved her hand with a dramatic, "The joys of a puppy!"

They shared a laugh as Kate cleaned up the yellow puddle on the floor. Then they both looked up when the front door opened.

"Oh! Alexis!" Martha chirped hurrying over to sweep her into a hug. "My darling! I didn't know you were coming over!"

Alexis hugged her back and said, "Some friends and I went to dinner and I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd stop by and say hi." Beckett smiled and waved at her and she waved back. "Hey, Kate."

"How are you, Alexis?"

"Great, thanks," she answered. "What's going on with you guys tonight?"

Martha interjected. "Gus has been keeping us all on our toes."

Alexis saw Kate throwing a wad of paper towels in the trash and said excitedly, "Gus is here?"

Just then, Castle came out of his room, holding the dog.

"Hey, Pumpkin," Castle said, giving her a hug and kissing the top of her head.

"Hi, Dad." She barely returned his hug before turning to the dog and cooing, "Hey there, Gus! Did you leave a mess all over the house? Silly boy!" She reached out for him, looking at her dad. "Can I…" she didn't even finish the question before she took the puppy and started hugging and kissing him. "C'mon Gusy, let's go play. Where's your ball?"

As Alexis walked away with the dog, Castle turned to Martha and Kate, and threw up his hands, looking aghast. "Did you see that? She doesn't even care that I haven't seen her in a week. She just wants to play with the dog." He worked up his best pout and added, "I wish I'd never gotten that dog."

Kate laughed. "Please, Castle. You _love_ Gus."

"I know!" Castle said. "That's the problem! So does everyone in the world." He turned to Martha, thumbing towards Kate and said, "Can you believe, I brought her chocolate covered cherries the other day and she didn't even care because she was so busy giving the dog a bath."

"Yes I did," Kate defended. "I told you they were delicious. But it didn't help that the only reason you got them was because you put a short in the earbuds that I let you borrow."

Castle gasped and Martha tsked at him. Then, nudging Kate with her elbow and covering her mouth with one hand, she said, "Richard can be a little careless at times."

"Mother. I'm right here," Castle protested.

The both ignored him and Kate nodded to Martha, saying quietly, "He means well, but sometimes he can be like a bull in a china shop."

"Guys, seriously?" Castle said, frowning at them. "What is this? Gang-up-on-Castle day?"

"Oh, poor baby," Kate said mockingly, as she reached out to pat his cheek.

"I don't need this," Castle said sourly, when she and Martha snickered at him. "My daughter and my dog will accept me, even if you two won't."

And with that, he plodded over to the couch where Alexis was tossing the ball for Gus.

Turning to Martha, Beckett asked, "You don't think we really hurt his feelings, do you?"

The older woman winked at her and replied, "He's got a pretty thick skin."

They turned back to watch him playing with Alexis and the dog, and Kate couldn't hide her grin. When her eyes slid briefly back over, Martha had a knowing smile, eyebrows raised questioningly.

Her cheeks colored a little but she smiled back and said, "I just forget sometimes how childlike he can be. How much innocence he's been able to hold on to."

"Because you're used him being anything _but_ innocent," Martha said, smirking.

Kate almost choked on nothing, quickly looking away from Martha, back to Gus who was digging frantically at Castle's thigh, trying to get at the ball.

But soon, she said, "It's just that he's not so jaded. Not the way you would expect someone like him to be."

Martha nodded. "You know, there was a time when I worried that he would stop being that fun-loving kid." She laughed. "But clearly, I had nothing to worry about."

Beckett turned to her, a frown creasing her forehead, and asked, "What do you mean?" She circled her finger, clarifying. "About him losing his fun."

"He never told you?"

"Told me what?"

"Well, he didn't come out of the womb fixated on death and the macabre."

Kate frowned. "He's never told me why he was drawn to writing murder mysteries."

"Maybe you should ask him," Martha said with a shrug.

"I have," Kate assured her. "But he deflected and wove some tale."

"Ah, that's Richard, for you," Martha said, chuckling.

Kate sighed, nodding in agreement. "He likes to be dramatic and over the top about his feelings, but when it comes down to the important stuff, a lot of times I have no idea what he's thinking. I mean, I know I'm one to talk but at least he knows when something is bothering me. With him, if it's something really serious, he doesn't crack. He redirects, and half the time, I don't even know it's affecting him."

"Like the way he pretends not to care who his father is?"

"Exactly," Kate said.

"Or all the years that he pined away for _you_?"

Her head snapped to look at Martha. "He talked to you about us?"

"He didn't have to. I wasn't born yesterday," Martha said. "But there _were_ nights when he would come home sulking and essentially tell me how much he loved you. Not in so many words, but I knew. I'm his mother after all."

Kate looked down, pinching the bridge of her nose, feeling awful. "I'm afraid I've done a lot of things to hurt the poor guy."

Martha put a hand on hers and said, "I'm not trying to guilt trip you, dear. I think you both needed time. All I'm trying to say is that sometimes Richard needs a little coaxing. He'll open up eventually. He always does. And you've been a good force in his life since the day you two met."

"Thank you, Martha," Kate said with a grateful smile. "He amazes me every day and I don't know how I manage to deserve him."

"Don't sell yourself short, kiddo." Martha put an arm around Beckett's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "You've got plenty to offer. I think the two of you play to each others strengths."

Just as she was about to answer, a shriek came from the floor of the living room and they both turned to look.

Alexis was reaching for Castle's phone and he was defending himself by tickling her, while Gus stood on the sofa cushion, barking at the action.

"Come on, Alexis," Castle was saying. "Your friends would love it! You were so adorable! It's just one tiny little picture."

"Why are you even friends with my friends? There's facebook etiquette, Dad!"

He held his phone as high as he could, trying to wrestle her away. "I'm the cool dad! _They_ added _me_! Plus I had to vet this Nolan guy that you like."

Alexis made a frustrated, growling noise, scrambling up onto the couch, reaching for his hand, and Gus jumped onto her lap, still barking.

"Dad, seriously. If you post that picture I will be so mad."

Castle jerked his hand away and stared poking at the screen of his phone, saying, "But look at you in that bathtub! You have bubbles in your hair. You're so cute!"

"Dad, I'm topless!"

"You were three!"

"Give it!"

She finally managed to wrench it from his grasp, then jumping up, she headed for the door.

"I'm leaving. And you're not getting this back!"

He ran after her, Gus in tow, saying, "Ok! Alexis, I promise I won't post it. Don't leave! Give me my phone!"

They all three ran out the door and Martha and Kate listened as the scuffle continued, down the hall.

"Well!" Martha said, looking at Kate.

They both laughed.

"That was…"

Kate didn't get to finish what she was about so say before the door opened again and Castle came in holding his phone triumphantly and calling behind him, "Don't think this is over, Alexis! You think I don't back up my phone in case people like you delete stuff? Plus I have the actual Polaroid in a box somewhere!"

He was just shutting the door behind him when Kate said, "Castle. The dog."

"Oh, crap." He yanked the door back open and ran out.

* * *

When he came back in, he was out of breath but had Gus in his hand. Then, coming to a halt in front of where his mother and Beckett were still leaning against the counter, he said, "So, whatcha talkin' about?" as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

They both just looked at him expectantly.

"What?" he asked, reaching out absentmindedly to set Gus on the counter.

"Not on the counter!" they both said at the same time.

Realizing what he was doing and quickly set the dog on the floor instead.

"Oops."

He kept standing there, awkwardly looking between them, until Kate said, "You chased Alexis away."

With a shrug, he ate some of the grapes that were in a bowl on the counter and said, "She was leaving anyway. I'm glad she stopped by, though."

"So you could torment the poor girl?" Martha asked, just as the phone started ringing.

Castle picked it up from the cradle and looked at the caller ID. "Who's Harold Whitaker?"

"Oh! I'll take that," Martha said, throwing up her hands. "You kids have a good evening," she said as she hurried toward the stairs with the phone.

Kate laughed as she disappeared, then looked at Castle, saying, "The similarities are… overwhelming."

He put a hand to his chest, looking shocked. "Madam, did you just imply that I'm just like my mother?"

Shaking her head and smiling, Kate replied, "No. I didn't imply that. I said it, explicitly."

He gasped. "I'm offended."

She returned his gasp with a laugh and said, "Your mom is sweet, Castle."

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "The sweetest loose cannon you'll ever meet." She laughed again and he said, "What were you two whispering about anyway?"

Making her way around the island, to where he was standing, she smiled sweetly. "Just stuff."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't worry about it, Castle."

"I don't like the sound of that," he said, frowning as she slid her hand onto his chest.

She smiled. "She was just telling me all of your deep, dark secrets."

"I _definitely_ don't like the sound of that!"

Chuckling into his neck, she said, "Calm down. We were just bonding a little."

"Do you know how my mother bonds? By telling ridiculous tales and embarrassing the people associated with her."

"Like I said. Striking similarities."

"Now you're just being mean."

"Only because you're a better kisser when you feel pressured."

She pulled her head back to smirk at him and he glared at her. "I'll show you good-kisser."

He was leaning towards her, when her eyes flicked over his shoulder and she gasped, running into the living room saying, "No, no, no, no! Gus! Hold it till the newspaper, buddy!"

Gus was just squatting when she swept him up and ran into the other room where his bathroom was. Castle followed and leaned against the door frame, watching her praise him for pooping on the newspaper.

"I think he's getting the hang of it," Castle said.

She snorted. "Not as fast as he would be if you actually checked on him when you're supposed to, instead of just leaving him to roam the house by himself with nothing to do but poop and pee all over the place."

"Whoa," Castle said, holding up a hand. "Take it easy. I only forgot the one time. Puppies have accidents, Kate. It's a brute fact."

"I know," she said, looking at him apologetically. "But it's still frustrating."

"Well, next time, I'll _let_ him run away down the hall," Castle teased. "Maybe Mrs. Kilburn will find him and adopt him."

"Don't joke about that," she said, frowning. "You'd be devastated if he ran away."

Castle nodded. "We should really get him some tags."

"Oh!" She looked up from cleaning up the newspapers. "That reminds me. I _did_. I think I stuck them in my wallet. Will you go get them?

* * *

When she came back out with Gus, Castle was sitting on the couch, the contents of her purse spread on the coffee table.

"Katherine Houghton Beckett." He laughed, looking at her driver license. "Look at this! What happened to you that day? You look like a felon!"

She glared at him and yanked it out of his hand. "Castle! What the hell is wrong with you?"

While she was stuffing it back in her wallet, he laughed again and said, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Everyone looks dreadful in their driver license picture."

"I told you to get the dog tags, not dig around in my purse."

"Well, what did you expect me to do? _Not_ dig through your stuff?"

"Yes!"

"You know me better than that, Kate."

"I know you're about to get smacked in your fat head," she said, collecting her things and putting them back in her purse.

"Ooooo. Smacking. I could get into that."

_A/N: I had to work it in after I read it on tumblr. I mean c'mon. We've all wondered about her middle name, right? :D AWM is so cool, yo._


End file.
